Coaxial cable connectors are well-known in the art, as exemplified in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,551,882; 4,580,862; 4,445,745; 4,116,521; 2,958,845 and 3,227,993. Typically, the coaxial cable connectors disclosed in the foregoing patents each require a number of specially made parts and therefore are relatively expensive, a significant disadvantage. One technique used in such coaxial cable connectors is to crimp parts of the connector around either or both the center conductor and shield of the coaxial cable, as disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,941,028; 3,221,290; 4,010,538; 3,728,787; 3,539,976; 4,070,751; 4,019,802; 4,131,332; 4,053,200; 4,135,776 and 4,619,496. Those connectors that crimp the cable center conductor are specially made and circumferentially crimp the conductor. Such circumferential crimping requires precision and special tooling, also a significant disadvantage.
One of the simplest connectors is the standard so-called "RCA plug" 100 illustrated in FIG. 1 originally manufactured and sold by the Radio Corporation of America (RCA), New York, N.Y. for use in connecting phonograph turntables to an associated amplifier (also often referred to simply as a "phono plug"). The phono plug 100 is a very inexpensive standard plug, comprising a hollow cylindrical center pin 105 firmly held in an annular insulating separator 110. The annular separator 110 is firmly held in the interior of an outside cylindrical conductor housing 115. The conductor housing 115 has a rear hollow cable-receiving cylindrical portion 120 characterized by a smaller radius through which the coaxial cable 130 is inserted. While the connector plug 100 enjoys the advantage of simplicity, it suffers from the disadvantage of requiring two solder joints for connection to a cable, as illustrated in FIG. 2. A coaxial cable 130 is prepared for connection to the plug 100 by partially stripping its braided conductive shield 135 and its cylindrical insulating sleeve 140 so as to expose a leading portion of its center conductor 145. The cable 130 is then inserted through the rear portion 120 of the plug 100 as shown in FIG. 2 until the front edge of the insulating sleeve 140 abuts an annular flange 107 of the center pin 105 so that the center conductor 145 slightly protrudes through a center hole 105a in the tip of the center pin 105. Solder joints 150 and 155 are then made near the center pin hole 105a and the edge of the rear portion 120, respectively. The first solder joint 150 connects the center conductor 145 to the center pin 105, while the second solder joint 155 connects the braided shield 135 to the connector housing 115. Making the two solder joints 150, 155 is relatively time-consuming and is subject to error. Unfortunately, without the solder joints, the connection between the cable 130 and the plug 100 would not be reliable. Thus, there appears to be no way to achieve a reliable connection between the cable 130 and the plug 100 without the time consuming soldering step.
It is therefore an object of the invention to provide a method for connecting a standard phono type connector plug to a coaxial cable in a single easy step.
It is a further object of the invention to provide a method for reliably connecting a standard phono type connector plug to a coaxial cable without soldering.
It is a yet further object of the invention to provide a method for connecting a standard phono type connector plug to a coaxial cable using a sleeve around the cable center conductor inside the plug's hollow center pin and a staking tool to crimp the sleeve between the center pin and the center conductor in a single action.
Other objects and benefits of the invention will become apparent from the description which follows hereinafter when taken in conjunction with the drawing figures which accompany it.